Definitions of colonialism

In doing research for a class I’m teaching this summer, I realized that the definitions of colonialism that come up in a Google search are somewhat lacking in perspective. I thought I would add a couple more.

COLONIALISM:

“An enduring relationship of domination and mode of dispossession, usually (or at least initially) between an Indigenous (or enslaved) majority and a minority of interlopers (colonizers), who… pursue their own interests, and exercise power through a mixture of coercion, persuasion, conflict and collaboration.” (From the Dictionary of Human Geography, 2009, p. 94)

“Settler colonialism… strives for the dissolution of native societies… it erects a new colonial society on the expropriated land base—as I put it, settler colonizers come to stay: invasion is a structure not an event.” (From Wolfe, 2006, p. 388)

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, the Canadian-American Center at the University of Maine has published a new map, “Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada.” The map honors indigenous place names in Canada and the assertion of indigenous authority through plac...

Between 2012 and 2016, Ojibwe teenager Adam Capay spent more than 50 consecutive months in solitary confinement in the provincial jail in Thunder Bay. Anything more than 15 days in solitary is torture under international human rights law. Now, six years later, after unfathomable delays and mistreatment, Adam's hearings will FINALLY get underway in Thunder Bay on March 12th. Help us with this special fund so that his family can attend the court hearing. The photo below was taken by his sister Alison Jane Capay during a visit. His face tells how good he felt seeing her. Bring a smile to Adam's face by helping get his family to Thunder Bay. No amount is too small.

Meet Ojibwe youth Adam Capay. Between 2012 and 2016, Adam spent more than 50 consecutive months in solitary confinement in the provincial jail in Thunder Bay. Anything more than 15 days in solitary is torture under international human rights law. Now, six years later, after unfathomable delays...

"Today I grieve for my country," wrote Sinclair on Saturday morning. "I grieve for a family that has seen only injustice from the moment a farmer with a handgun (why does a farmer need a handgun?) killed their son."He went on to say that he grieves...